Heart healthy living

In Australia, 1 in 6 adults – or 4.2 million people – have heart disease. It's the leading cause of death, with more than 40,000 lives lost each year.

According to the World Health Organisation, 80% of lifestyle diseases can be prevented if positive health changes are made, like eating a healthy diet, increasing physical activity, reducing alcohol consumption, and abstaining from smoking.

So what can you do to keep your heart healthy?

Top 12 tips for a healthy heart

1. Eat the right fats

In a healthy diet, fats should account for about 20-35% of the energy you eat. Healthy fats supply valuable fatty acids that help nurture your body and brain, and help you absorb important fat-soluble vitamins and nutrients like vitamins A, D, E, K.

There are different types of dietary fats in food, including unsaturated fats, saturated fats, and trans fats.

When it comes to heart disease and healthy eating in general, it’s best to reduce your intake of saturated and trans fats as much as possible. By reducing your saturated fat and adding in healthy fats, you can lower your LDL (low density lipoprotein) ‘bad’ cholesterol by about 6-8%!

Here are some tips:

avoid processed meats like salami and sausages

trim the fat off meat and choose leaner cuts

remove the skin from chicken

try eating more plant proteins like legumes instead of meat 2-3 times per week

Did you know? A recent Danish study of 55,000 adults followed over 13 years showed that those who consumed the most amount of wholegrains had a 25% lower risk of having a heart attack than those that consumed the least.

3. Boost fruits and vegetables

Eating a variety of fruits and vegetables daily is important for heart disease prevention. Along with valuable fibre, fruits and vegetables have important antioxidants and phytochemicals which help to protect your heart.

An 8-year European study of 313,000 adults showed that those who had 8 portions of fruit and vegetables daily had a 22% lower risk of heart disease than those who had three portions or less.

Bump up your fruits and vegetables:

add fresh fruits to your cereal or smoothies

pack in a piece of fruit as a snack

have fresh veggie sticks with hummus or a tzatziki dip

fill your wraps and sandwiches with a variety of salads, sprouts, beans and legumes, tomato, cucumber, grated carrot, and olives

4. Increase plant sterols

Plant sterols help to lower your cholesterol by blocking its absorption from food in your gut, meaning less cholesterol ends up in your bloodstream. Plant sterols are naturally found in very small amounts in plant foods, including plant based oils, nuts, seeds, wholegrains, breads, legumes, fruits and vegetables.

A plant-based diet can supply around 1/2g per day. But, if you need to manage your cholesterol, increasing the amount of plant sterols in your diet may help. Studies show that when 2g of plant sterols are added to the diet each day through a plant sterol enriched food (like cereal, milk or spread) or a plant sterol supplement, it can help reduce your LDL ‘bad’ cholesterol by about 9%!

Plant sterol enriched foods are specifically developed for those with high cholesterol levels. If your cholesterol levels are high, aim for 2-3g of plant sterols per day. Studies confirm that having more than 3g of plant sterols per day is unnecessary, as these higher intakes do not reduce cholesterol levels any further.

Although plant sterols are safe for children and pregnant women, plant sterol enriched foods are not necessary in their diet (unless advised by their health practitioner) as usually they’re not concerned about their cholesterol levels.

There are different plant-sterol enriched foods available in the supermarket. Plant sterols can be added to milk, margarines, breakfast cereal and yoghurts. Check the nutrition panels as they are added in different amounts with varying number of serves required each day to meet the effective dose of 2–3g plant sterols.

5. Aim for more soluble fibres

Soluble or viscous fibres are components of plants that create a gel like texture when soaked or cooked. Some food examples include oats, barley, eggplant, legumes, psyllium husks, chia seeds, and linseeds (or flaxseeds). These fibres also help catch cholesterol in your gut, preventing it from being absorbed into your bloodstream. Studies show that about 10g of viscous fibres each day can lower LDL ‘bad’ cholesterol by around 3-5%.

7. Munch on nuts and peanuts

Nuts and peanuts contain important amounts of fibre, polyunsaturated fats, magnesium, and vitamin E, which are all important for protecting your heart. If you consume ¼ cup (about 30g) of unsalted nuts each day, you can reduce your risk of heart disease by up to 27%! Or by 31% if peanuts are consumed. When it comes to nuts and cholesterol, about a ¼ cup can help lower your LDL ‘bad’ cholesterol near to 3-5%.

Add some nuts to your meals:

have a handful of unsalted nuts as a midmorning snack

make your own trail mix

add them to your breakfast cereal, salad, stir-fry, or muffin mix

make a creamy nut pesto

use lightly baked nuts as delicious crunchy topping on yoghurt

enjoy natural peanut butter or other nut paste in a smoothie or on brown grainy bread or wholegrain breakfast biscuits.

8. The portfolio foods

The portfolio foods include all the key dietary foods mentioned above (plant sterols, soluble/viscous fibres, soy protein, and nuts) which have an additive effect at lowering cholesterol when eaten in combination (over the course of a day).

These were first discovered by Professor David Jenkins at the University of Toronto, Canada. He showed that when those with high cholesterol ate a controlled low saturated fat diet it lowered their LDL ‘bad’ cholesterol by 9%, but when they ate a low saturated fat diet with portfolio foods, their LDL ‘bad’ cholesterol was lowered by 30% within 4 weeks!! Which provides the same effect as a low dose statin.

This is an amazing result considering if only a 10% reduction in LDL ‘bad’ cholesterol is achieved, it has the potential of saving about 3,000 Australian lives from heart disease and stroke each year.

So eating a low saturated fat diet with a combination of portfolio foods (plant sterols, viscous fibres, soy protein, and nuts), will provide an additional benefit to lowering your cholesterol than attempting any of these dietary measures alone.

And if you’re on statin medication already, eating portfolio foods - especially plant sterols - will allow your medication to work more efficiently.

Estimated LDL cholesterol lowering effect of the portfolio diet

Portfolio food

Estimated LDL cholesterol lowering effect

Amount recommended

Reducing saturated fat and adding in healthy fats (PUFA MUFA)

6-8%

< 7% of total energy from saturated fat

Plant sterols

9%

2-3g

Soluble fibre

3-5%

10g

Soy protein

3-5%

25g

Unsalted nuts and peanuts

3-5%

30g

Total estimated reduction in LDL cholesterol

24%-32%

9. Reduce salt

While limiting the amount of salt you add to your food is important, most of your salt intake can come from processed foods. Read your food labels regularly and aim for foods with less than 400mg of sodium per 100g.

Tips to reduce your salt intake:

avoid highly processed foods like processed snacks and chips

gradually decrease the amount of salt added during cooking, so that your taste buds will adjust · use reduced salt or no added salt stock cubes

10. Be active!

Regular physical activity will increase your HDL ‘good’ cholesterol and keep your heart fit and strong, as well as helping you feel more energetic, happier and relaxed. Try to be physically active most days of the week for at least 30-40 minutes.

12. Reduce alcohol and avoid tobacco

If you drink alcohol try to minimise the amount and keep to 2 standard drinks on any occasion. Like alcohol, smoking is very harmful for your heart and greatly increases cholesterol and your heart disease risk. If you’re a smoker, speak to your doctor on how to quit.

Useful resources

The Complete Health Improvement Program (CHIP) provides a comprehensive series of workshops that help educate and empower individuals and teams to take better care of their heart and lifestyle. CHIP is offered in a variety of community and work based settings around Australia and New Zealand. If you or your workplace would like to be involved, contact the CHIP team.